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A “TOP 10 LIST” ON TRUMP; CALL IT A “BOTTOM 10 LIST”

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

One of my favorite tactics over the years has been to mimic former late night TV host David Letterman by preparing my own “Top 10 List” in relation to any number of issues.

So, I did so recently in regard to President Donald Trump who continues to amaze with his beyond-understanding conduct, even on a world stage. I will call my list, therefore, a “Bottom 10 List.”

Further, the list below appears in no particular order of priority. Each indicates a trait of “our president,” one I hope has only four years in office. It will be tough enough to survive even that period of time, must less four more years in the nation’s highest political office.

So, here goes:

  1. TRUMP’S SUPPOSED STRATEGY? HE DOESN’T HAVE ONE – IT’S ALL TACTICS [This relies on my long-standing belief – one I have followed in all aspects of my career – that strategy comes first, then tactics to implement that strategy. In other words, an overall strategy is the goal; tactics, which shouldn’t be first, are designed to implement the strategy. On this scale, Trump fails miserably.]
  2. TRUMP DEMONSTRATES SWAGGER, NOT SUBSTANCE, BELIEVING HE IS ALWAYS THE SMARTEST PERSON IN THE ROOM
  3. TRUMP DEHUMANIZES ALL IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES, THOUGH ALL OF US IN THE UNITED STATES, IN FACT, FIT IN THOSE CATEGORIES, EXCEPT NATIVE AMERICANS
  4. TRUMP DEMONSTRATES NO UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF HIS OFF-HAND REMARK, ESPECIALLY AS THOSE OFF-THE-CUFF REMARKS AFFECTS SUCH METRICS AS THE STOCK MARKET
  5. TRUMP COMMITS NEAR-TREASON IN HELSINKI, BUT AT LEAST, IF NOT NEAR-TREASON, IS GUILTY OF COLLUSION AND BECOMING A “CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER” TO THE U.S., GIVEN HIS SIDLING UP WITH SOVIET LEADER VLADIMIR PUTIN, THUS RELEGATING U.S. INTELLIGENCE INTERESTS TO SECOND PLACE[Here’s the way Tufts University Professor Daniel Drezner put in a recent Wall Street Journal piece. “President Trump, who has a little something of the later Roman emperors in him, is not engaged in making war on the United States, though it is galling to defend him from such charges given his own propensity for talking treason lightly.  He is not engaged in treason or anything like treason. He is engaged in hypocrisy and moral illiteracy. He is a frank admirer of caudillos such as Vladimir Putin, because in his mind ruthlessness, grasping, and amorality are associated with effective leadership. Hence the praise for Kim Jong-un.”]
  6. TRUMP’S USE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEFIES LOGIC [Here is the way columnist George Will put it in a recent excellent column: “Precision is not part of Trump’s repertoire: He speaks English as though it is a second language that he learned from someone who learned English last week. So, it is usually difficult to sift meanings from Trump’s word salads.”]
  7. TRUMP IS THE ULTIMATE NARCISSIST – EVERYTHING ALWAYS REVOLVES AROUND HIM AND ONLY HIM
  8. TRUMP’S VERSION OF “AMERICA FIRST” ONLY MAKES SENSE IF YOU CONSIDER HIS DEFINITION OF IT
  9. WITH TRUMP, HONESTY, INTEGRITY AND ETHICAL BEHAVIOR ARE WOEFULLY MISSING
  10. WITH TRUMP, TOSS NORMAL POLITICAL CONVENTIONS IN AMERICA OUT THE WINDOW; THERE ARE NO CHECKS AND BALANCES IN HIS SYSTEM, JUST TRUMP’S DICTATORIAL INSTINCTS

As I wrote earlier, I hope America can survive four years of Donald Trump. There are many real Republicans who have renounced that political label because of the misdeeds and over-reach of Trump. I would have, as well, had I now already become “unaffiliated,” which I thought was a better status for a lobbyist.

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